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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26266705">Die to Find Out</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/naggeluide/pseuds/naggeluide'>naggeluide</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: Legend of Korra, Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan, The Dragon Prince (Cartoon), ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 | JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>4+1 fic, Ackermans are Todorokis, Attack on Titan AU, Bakugou has Killer Queen, Bakusquad as Team Avatar, Canon-Typical Violence, Dabi is a Todoroki, Deaf Bakugou Katsuki, Enemies to "we're not friends" to lovers, Eremika but it's Bakutodo, F/F, F/M, Female Bakugou Katsuki, Female Todoroki Shouto, Janaya but it's Todobaku, JoJo's Bizzare Adventure AU, Korrasami but it's Bakutodo, M/M, Stands (JoJo), THE DRAGON PRINCE AU, Todobaku WITH SWORDS, Todobakudeku as Shiganshina Trio, and finally not an AU, as the AU calls for it, but not Touya, is that even a thing, legend of korra AU, let Korra say fuck 2020, otherwise male, please be aware this level changes with each canon, suprisingly no (permanent) major character deaths, this time Dabi is Todoroki Touya</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 05:02:05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,932</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26266705</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/naggeluide/pseuds/naggeluide</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It's simple, is what it really is. Todoroki wants Bakugou; he doesn't know if he needs him, but he knows he would die to find out.</p><p>So he dies.</p><p>Or, four AUs where Todoroki dies to find out, and one non-AU where Todoroki doesn't.</p><p>-----</p><p>JoJo's Bizarre Adventure AU (excerpt above)</p><p>Avatar: The Legend of Korra AU: Todoroki was beginning to regret that she'd had her meet-cute with Kirishima instead of Bakugou, until the Avatar opens her mouth. "Fuck you, lightning rod, and your rock-for-brains brother. I was not fucking adorable, I was fierce as shit!"</p><p>Attack on Titan AU: Bakugou had roughly wrapped his red-and-white scarf around Todoroki in the aftermath, and she hasn't taken her eyes off him since.</p><p>The Dragon Prince AU: To be known the way Bakugou knows her -- through combat alone, through action instead of words -- Todoroki can't help but feel that from this alone the human woman knows her better than anyone in Lux Arena.</p><p>Canon-'verse: "I would die for you," Todoroki clarifies. It's a truth he knows as well as the color of the sky, the grass. "In fact, I'm certain that I already have, in a past life. Several times."</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bakugou Katsuki &amp; Midoriya Izuku &amp; Todoroki Shouto, Bakugou Katsuki/Todoroki Shouto, Jirou Kyouka/Yaoyorozu Momo, Kirishima Eijirou/Todoroki Shouto, Minor or Background Relationship(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>96</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Stand a Little Bit Closer</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A little challenge I set myself to reboot the worldbuilding brain: write a complete AU in ~ 1000 words. Include enough world-specific details that there are no glaring inconsistencies to someone who knows the canon material, but not so much that it's overexplained. Zoom in and out on the action/plot points with smooth transitions.</p><p>With a tight focus on pairing (tdbk, obvs) and theme (love and sacrifice), while still trying to include the relevant character beats for each AU, this actually becomes possible :)</p><p>Bonus points for:<br/>writing in the present tense<br/>"It's your power!"<br/>Lord Explosion Murder<br/>Bakugou and guilt over All Might's fall or world-equivalent event<br/>Todofam drama outlined in no more than one paragraph<br/>"We're not friends"</p><p>Naturally, given the title, I have to start by JoJo posting on my own fic, so the first chapter's a JoJo AU, enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>"That's him?" Todoroki asks, peering at man in the polaroid.</p><p> </p><p>"That's him," Jirou confirms solemnly, waving away Hermit Purple.</p><p> </p><p>Bakugou curses softly, then says what they're all afraid to. "That's so fucking wrong. It's his goddamn body, isn't it? All Might's?"</p><p> </p><p>It's as obvious from the star-shaped birthmark on the muscled back to the two signature strands of crimped blond hair melting into the shadows surrounding the imposing figure. The only other thing they can make out in the photo is an open coffin, with the letters D-I-O on its clasp. Todoroki glances at Bakugou, notes the tight set of his shoulders, the unhappy tension trying to hide behind an angry twist of the lips. He knows the other boy blames himself for All Might's fall, for being weak enough to need saving, even though he was only a child at the time. Strong as his Stand was, even then, Bakugou couldn't have hoped to go up against the Stand-stealer and survive.</p><p> </p><p>"But how much of All Might's Stand powers did he gain, too?" wonders Todoroki.</p><p> </p><p>None of them want to know the answer to that. And besides, even All Might's successor wouldn't know for sure.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm out," Momo announces abruptly. "I'm sorry. I know I said I would do this, but… he's going to have to die. There's no way around it. And I swore that my Gold Experience would only ever be used for creation. I can't in good conscience fight at your sides, knowing that I might not be able to stop myself from using it to take a life."</p><p> </p><p>There goes their most powerful Stand and its user, Todoroki doesn't say. He understands, because he envies her. His Hot and Cold, like Bakugou's Killer Queen (or as Bakugou likes to call it, Lord Explosion Murder), are Stands dreadful in their capacity for destruction. Momo chooses to see the brighter side in everything, though, and her Gold Experience is at the top of that list.</p><p> </p><p>"You know who we need," Todoroki intones to Bakugou, ignoring the annoyed click of the tongue that earns.</p><p> </p><p>"Fuck no."</p><p> </p><p>Todoroki calls Midoriya anyway.</p><p> </p><p>Part of it is because he enjoys pissing Bakugou off, probably too much for his own good, but this is balanced out by the fact that he's calling Midoriya out of his own sense of self-preservation. Which he does have, thank you very much. It's how he's avoided getting his face exploded for the last two months even while being drawn in ever closer to Bakugou's fiery epicenter.</p><p> </p><p>It's irresistible, the turbulence that belies the steadiness of the character underneath. This strange fascination with order in chaos is why Todoroki had not only survived but thrived, he supposes, when his mother could no longer protect him and his father stabbed his six-year-old son through the eye with a Stand arrow. Hot and Cold had pulled it out and sealed the wound shut with fire, all the while trying to freeze Todoroki's bastard father to the floor, the boy's duality on display in his Stand even more than in his physical body.</p><p> </p><p>Hot and Cold looks like his mother (looks like a mirror-version of him, everyone else insists) and so Todoroki can't resent it, even after everything his father does to him afterwards (even after everything he did before -- Touya wasn't as lucky as Shouto. He hadn't survived Burnin' Alive). It's a formidable Stand, too, with its elemental powers, but All Might's Stand is a thing of legend.</p><p> </p><p>"Want to kill god?" Todoroki asks over the phone.</p><p> </p><p>Midoriya can't say no, and Todoroki only snorts when he tries to imitate Aizawa-sensei with a world-weary protest of yare yare daze. When Midoriya arrives the next day, Star Platinum manifests to greet Todoroki and Bakugou. Todoroki can't help but be impressed by the immense Stand, towering over its current user. Anyone else, Star Platinum would engulf in All-Might's shadow, but Midoriya's smile shines as bright as the gold decorating dangerous studded gloves, his own battle cries no less fearsome and determined than the mighty Stand's.</p><p> </p><p>Star Platinum is so solid, so real, and Todoroki willingly takes a blow in their reunion sparring match to prove it to himself. There's no way the enemy got away with more than a cheap imitation of Star's power, he thinks to himself in a daze.</p><p> </p><p>"How can I compare with All Might, anyway?" Midoriya asks, pulling Todoroki to his feet. "I don't think I'd even be able to control twenty percent of his power."</p><p> </p><p>Todoroki stares at him blankly. He doesn't understand, and he doesn't think it's the knock on the head either. "It's your power," he says. "Isn't it? So use one hundred percent of whatever you've got."</p><p> </p><p>Midoriya looks at Todoroki like he'd hung the stars, and Bakugou clicks his tongue in annoyance at the scene. "I thought we were here for murder."</p><p> </p><p>So they go to fight the Stand-stealer, All Might's former nemesis who now wears All Might's body. Nameless, faceless, until Jirou's photo. They guess they'll call him DIO.</p><p> </p><p>They don't know what Stand powers DIO's cobbled together from the lives he's taken, although Momo has armed them with several probable conjectures. Whatever it is, the three of them can deal with it. Probably.</p><p> </p><p>"Icyhot's got the distance, the nerd has the punch power, and if I can't blow his stolen face off the first time I get my hands on him, you bet I'm siccing Bites the Dust on that shit so if something goes sideways I can keep going till I get him."</p><p> </p><p>Declarations of lethal intent shouldn't be so appealing, but Todoroki thinks that's the moment he falls in love with Bakugou.</p><p> </p><p>It's stupid, really, as stupid as Bakugou's own dumb, heroic determination, but then Bakugou's said that to Todoroki so often by now that it just bounces off. It's simple, is what it really is. Todoroki wants Bakugou; he doesn't know if he needs him, but he knows he would die to find out.</p><p> </p><p>So he dies.</p><p> </p><p>More than once, body split perfectly in twain at the very end, and Todoroki doesn’t remember any of it but later he finds out that Bakugou watches, helpless, every time before Bites the Dust explodes time back for yet another attempt.</p><p> </p><p>Bakugou's looking on with haunted eyes now as Todoroki reveals the secret of DIO's World for what is probably far from the first time, no matter how it feels to Todoroki; Bakugou's out of range and Todoroki can't help but wonder what exactly has happened before to redden the rims of red eyes so. Even as he wonders, his field of icy stalactites and stalagmites shattering simultaneously and bringing with it the faint beginnings of pain, numbed only by his desperate splash of flames that melts the face off a clock tower, time stops.</p><p> </p><p>But this time, it's Midoriya.</p><p> </p><p>And this time, they win.</p><p> </p><p>Bakugou and Todoroki are ablaze with the dawn, raw with pain and adrenaline. It was Midoriya's victory, in the end, but they've given everything to get him there.</p><p> </p><p>"Did you figure it out yet, half-'n-half bastard?" growls Bakugou, singed fingertips roughly grabbing Todoroki's own, eyes still sparking like firecrackers even though Killer Queen reached its limit a long time ago.</p><p> </p><p>How many times he's watched Todoroki die before he got the chance to ask that question, Todoroki doesn't know. But he'd figured out that The World stops time the same number plus one of deaths he's died, so he knows that's not what Bakugou's asking.</p><p> </p><p>"I did," he replies, because it's so obviously true. He needs Bakugou, needs him so much, maybe even more than he wants him. Todoroki knows he wouldn't be here without him.</p><p> </p><p>"About goddamn time," Bakugou grumbles, and finally kisses him.</p><p> </p><p>Todoroki smiles into the kiss. It took them no time at all, and yet he can't help but agree.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Originally I wanted Deku to have Crazy Diamond since he's so good at bone-breaking, but I guess that's actually Recovery Girl's Stand (or, on a darker note, Overhaul's). Shouto's Quirk is basically already a Katy Perry song, so I let him keep it as a Stand :) </p><p>The EndHawks lovechild has Magician's Red. #cursed … Shouto never talks about this</p><p>Also cursed: All-Might DIO-posing (Not cursed: Bakugou doing the Killer Queen pose). Momo with Giorno's outfit and hairstyle, which means Jirou's dressed like Buccharati except with earphone jack motifs instead of zippers… actually, if any artists out there are seeing this, I will get on my knees and beg you for this.</p><p>Can't decide if it's cursed: Midoriya drawn like Koichi while his stand is Star freaking Platinum.<br/>You're welcome.</p><p>Oh, and I don't know anything about fashion much less what happens in JoJo, but I'm in part 5 right now and the way that's going, there's an 80% probability that Todoroki's wearing a skirt.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Smell of Perfume</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Everyone: Todoroki is Zuko!</p>
<p>Me: In this essay, I will --</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"-- and then widdle, adowable, three-year-old Bakugou here announces, 'I'm the Avatar! Deal with it!'" Kaminari finishes telling the tale, and dodges a fiery explosion.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Todoroki raises a black eyebrow, thinking to herself that this is not only the least Avatar-ish Avatar she's ever seen (not that she's seen much beyond Avatar Izuku's statue in the bay, but she's a well-educated lady who knows her history) but also the most fond-of-fire Water Tribesperson she's ever met. All in a package that's more beautifully muscled than even the toned redhead she'd almost pancaked with her motorbike. She's beginning to regret that she'd had her meet-cute with Kirishima instead of Bakugou, until the Avatar opens her mouth.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Fuck you, lightning rod, and your rocks-for-brains brother. I was not fucking adorable, I was fierce as shit!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Is that because you were still in diapers at the time?" inquires Todoroki, deadpan.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Bakugou -- Avatar Katsuki, as Todoroki learns later is the explosive blonde's formal title -- splutters, red-faced and half-incoherent with rage.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Todoroki decides it's a good look on her.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Todoroki dates Kirishima, because she's trying her best to the respectable heiress she's been raised to be, and because she likes hanging around the Fire Ferrets. Besides, Kirishima's a pro athlete with a thing against shirts, which obviously no woman should have a problem with, and even Todoroki can see the appeal from a purely aesthetic perspective. If his abs can't quite compete with Bakugou's biceps (and that one glance Todoroki'd gotten of Bakugou's back which nearly sent her to the Spirit World), then that's her own private opinion.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She feels safe with Kirishima, which is another thing she should want; it's the reason for years martial arts training and her father's overprotective behavior, after all. And the adoptive brothers are nice, always happy to have her around and eager to coax her into tomfoolery that she too easily gives in to. Underneath their endless joking, Kirishima and Kaminari are in awe of her inventions, and even though Bakugou plays above it all, she begrudgingly gives tips on how to improve the flamethrower's range or the liquid nitrogen storage with the help of bending techniques Todoroki's never even heard of. And she's the daughter of the famous firebender and entrepreneur, Mr. Endeavor himself as they styled him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Then it turns out Bakugou's into Kirishima (Todoroki tells herself she's jealous because she wants Kirishima, not Bakugou), Kaminari's into Bakugou, and Kirishima's too pure for this world and definitely for Todoroki, loyally declaring he'll stay by her side. Todoroki's doing nothing to close the distance that grows between them, though, and it's small comfort that she knows she's not breaking his heart; she knows exactly how he looks at Bakugou, how much he cares for her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>This riveting young adult drama that Todoroki never in all her isolated years thought she'd be a part of is, however, overshadowed by far more sinister discoveries. Namely, Endeavor is a piece of shit father, and suddenly Todoroki's the CEO of Future Industries while at the same time a full-time member of Team Avatar.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Todoroki's world changes overnight, but she tells herself it's for the better. She hates that she misses her father, even though she's not sure she'll ever forgive him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She doesn't re-dye her hair, letting the red and white emerge from the darkness. She's born of fire and ice, and while she may not wield either element she feels herself always caught between their two extremes. Her mother had called her spirit-touched, and told her the story of her birth, how the Spirits themselves laid claim to half of the infant, whispering great promises for the future. Todoroki's an inventor and an engineer, so she believes in the mixed genetics of her Water Tribe mother and her Fire Nation father more than fanciful stories, but she'd loved her mother. Still loves her mother, desperately, even years after she'd been murdered by the very same faction her father had been secretly funding. He'd had no choice, he'd pled with Todoroki, mere days ago; it was to keep her safe, to keep the company. That was the moment Todoroki knew he'd never loved them. If he had, he would have done something, anything, that would have let Todoroki keep her mother. Now all she had to remember her by was the burn scar she'd been left in the same attack.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Todoroki strides out of her father's shadow. Runs away in disgust, if she's honest with herself. She'll make her own legacy, end this ridiculous feud with Might Industries, channel her energies towards inventions that help everyone, not just a select few.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It's hard work, for one so young, for a woman and a non-bender in a man's world and a bender's world, but let it never be said that Todoroki's not a stubborn bastard.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Bakugou says it often enough, at any rate. It's ironic; Todoroki is left with no time for dating but apparently pining didn't get the notice. It hurts to see Bakugou and Kirishima growing closer and more affectionate, but it hurts more to stay away from the three of them. At least she's got Kaminari in her corner, although for him the pining is just a phase. Mina, Avatar Izuku's pink-haired granddaughter, not-so-privately labels Team Avatar the Bakuhoes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Todoroki tells herself it's a good thing, that she's just friends with Bakugou -- despite Bakugou's studious avoidance of that particular f-word -- so that she can learn to appreciate more than just the combination of the sculpted body, pretty face, and perfume that smells faintly of explosions that still threatens to send her weak-kneed to the floor every time. Following the Avatar's lead, Todoroki starts learning what it is to be unapologetically herself.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She'll keep her conservative businesswoman attire and good manners, but Todoroki finds she likes getting down in the dirt sparring with Bakugou and the boys (she'd more than like to get down and dirty with Bakugou in other ways, but that's a harder part of her traditional upbringing to shrug off). After years of being treated as a crown jewel, to be preserved and admired from afar, it's refreshing to put her training to the test, discarding some aspects of formal martial arts for the scrappy, effective cheats of street fighting.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>From Bakugou, Todoroki learns ferocity and the determination to win at all costs; from Todoroki, Bakugou learns how to control the pace of a fight, from glacial slow to lightning fast, and the elemental principles behind time-tested hand-to-hand, bending-less technique. Somewhere along the way, they strike up a friendly rivalry.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Of course, Bakugou would call it only a rivalry. To Todoroki, that's even better than friends. Not many can challenge an Avatar enough that they'll come back for more.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Ice or fire?" asks Todoroki, sorting through her weapons tech before their bi-weekly spar.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Bakugou looks at her as if she's a moron. "Why not both?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Because only the Avatar gets more than one element. Because non-benders are lucky if they have martial arts, much less mecha tech. Because it's what's always been done. <em>Tradition</em>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Todoroki takes fire with her left, ice with her right, and grins.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Bakugou doesn't go easy on her. She never does. It is why, despite what the radio and newspapers might say, Bakugou's a brilliant Avatar. She's young and brash, but when she fights she wins, and she will always, always fight for what she believes in.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Even when it threatens to tear her apart -- and even when it pulls her Avatar spirit from her body.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Todoroki feels her own spirit dying a little when she hears about it, and only starts to live again when Mina tells how Ochako found the Light Spirit once again, how the physical and spirit worlds took a step closer together.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It's only fitting that as Bakugou changes the world, the world changes Bakugou.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But it's not fair how Bakugou suffers through it all, very nearly witnessing the death of her airbending mentor Tsunagu, sacrificing herself to save Team Avatar, being poisoned and tortured by Shigaraki and the Red Lotus.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She's pushed beyond the breaking point, and she's unbelievably strong but Todoroki can see past her brave face and see the toll these things take written underneath.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Todoroki promises to be there whenever Bakugou needs her; Bakugou says she needs some time alone.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It hurts, but Todoroki understands.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She'll wait as long as it takes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She thinks of Bakugou every day and writes whenever she can, but it feels like her life is on hold, even as her company grows and she and her friends move on to new ventures.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Something in Todoroki ignites when news of Bakugou's appearances in the Earth Kingdom starts to circulate; she'd like nothing better than to drop all her duties and join the search with Tsunagu's kids, but she knows Ochaco is the best person for the job.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It takes all the ice in Todoroki's heritage to play it cool when she finally, finally sees Bakugou again, because now she has a name for that something. Bakugou's cut her hair and Todoroki is sure she's never been more in love in her life, staring at the dandelion mop she's sporting now, staring at everything that is Bakugou, in the flesh, after what's surely been three of the hardest years in their lives.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>So of course the first thing they do is get into a fight about Todoroki's father.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They manage to make up after delivering a cathartic beating to would-be kidnappers, and Todoroki knows that this is what she needs in her life: to fight back-to-back with Avatar Katsuki, as long as she'll have her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Todoroki's at her back when Kaminari uses his lightning to obliterate the power source of Chisaki's colossus, and the explosion blows the giant mecha to pieces.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Todoroki's surprised they're all alive -- and a bit disappointed that Chisaki made it, too -- even more so when Bakugou attempts to talk the metalbender into surrender with her words, not her fists.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She's not at all surprised when Chisaki runs.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Chisaki's a slippery one, always with a trick up her sleeve; it takes intelligence to get as far as she has in her overhaul of the Earth Kingdom, and Chisaki has that in spades. It worries Todoroki, even as she sprints after Bakugou into the spirit wilds; she'd call for caution if she thought it was ever an option for Avatar Katsuki.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When Chisaki reveals herself with her hand on the trigger and the massive barrel of the spirit weapon pointing straight at Bakugou, Todoroki doesn't have an option either.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She pushes Bakugou to the ground, does her best to follow her but the trigger's been pulled and Todoroki doesn't even have time to say <em>I'm sorry</em>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It's all right.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She wouldn't have meant it anyway.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Spirit World is not what Todoroki expected. It feels like… like coming home, if home was a place she didn't know she had up until now. A lot like Bakugou's embrace.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Ah, young Todoroki! We've been expecting you." A tall, skinny man with shockingly yellow hair pulls her to her feet.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He feels familiar, but Todoroki's never seen him before in her life.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"We?" she says dumbly, and looks around. One other face she does recognize, although it's more youthful here than she's used to seeing. Freckles dot it like constellations, and waves of green hair fall haphazardly over airbender's arrows.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Avatar Izuku."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Yes! Yup, that's me. And Avatar Toshinori, Avatar Nana, Avatar… well, I'd be here all day if I introduced everybody. Not that days are a thing here, this is the Spirit World after all, and those are kind of a more physical concept. Ah, please excuse me, I ramble a bit when I'm excited and I've been so curious about when you'd finally show up."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Finally?" Todoroki frowns. "You were waiting for me to die?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The three Avatars closest to her make surprised noises. "What? No!" Izuku protests. "Die? You're not dead, Todoroki."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It's Todoroki's turn to be incredulous. "I got blasted by a giant spirit cannon. I'm pretty sure I ought to be dead. I don't have any special powers, not like Avatar Katsuki…"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"What do you mean, young Todoroki?" Toshinori's tone was kind but bewildered.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I'm just an ordinary person. Not even a bender, no elemental connection, much less a spiritual one…"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Are you so sure about that?" Avatar Nana steps up, the hands that in life wielded the legendary war fans gentle as they thread through Todoroki's hair.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The white side.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The side that her mother…</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"It's… she said I… I was spirit-touched. But I'm not, I can't be, I've heard the story, you know. Of her ancestor, the brave princess who gave her life back for her people." Todoroki swallows, holding back tears of shame. "I'm not like that, though. I'm not brave, and I'm so, so selfish; I'd do anything for Bakugou, it's true, but only because I'm in love with her. But for the good of the nation? The world? I'm not that kind of person. I don't have that kind of power."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku laughs then, and it's the bright peal of a bell as a new dawn breaks. "You don't?" he demands, green eyes blazing. "You aren't? Look around you, Todoroki. What do you see?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She does, and all she can see is… "Bakugou. You're all her past lives. And she… I'm sorry, but… she's all I can see."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku's expression softens then, and he takes Todoroki's chin in his hand, tilts her face down ever so slightly so that she has no excuse not to meet his eyes. "It's your power," he says solemnly, then continues as if he hasn't blasted Todoroki with a gigantic spirit cannon for the second time in so many minutes. "Isn't it? Everything you had in you, all that you've ever been, and in one instant you chose to trade it all for someone else. And now here you are, surrounded by her spirit, the same spirit that wouldn't be here if not for you." </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Todoroki is speechless.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She collapses to her knees, feeling tears run down her face. She's giddy with relief, overwhelmed with the thought that she was finally enough, when she'd never been so before, not enough to keep her mother safe, to bear the burden of her father's legacy and expectations, to stop Shigaraki or heal Bakugou from the poison.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"It's my power," she repeats dumbly. Her power, her choice.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A fucking stupid choice, Todoroki can almost hear Bakugou hollering into her ear, and maybe it was, but it was hers and hers alone, and she'd do it over and over, no matter how long the tongue-lashing goes on.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Because this is Bakugou, it goes on for a while and escalates in volume, until at some point Todoroki realizes she'd closed her eyes and so she opens them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Bakugou's red-eyed, teary glare greets her, along with a sharp slap to the face. "You fucking idiot, I need you!" she screams. "You can't fucking die on me like that!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Bakugou?" asks Todoroki, just in case, but she doesn't need to. All she'd seen before was Bakugou, and all she sees now is Bakugou, so nothing has really changed except she has the distinct feeling she's no longer in the Spirit World, where language as foul as Bakugou's is probably automatically censored.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Shitty… half-and-half bastard," sobs Bakugou, crushing Todoroki into a hug that is definitely real, and Todoroki bets it hurts equally for both of their battered bodies. "Fuck. I guess I can't even call you that anymore, you shithead."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Todoroki makes a noise of confusion, looks down to see Bakugou tugging on the ends of her red hair.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Her completely red hair, now, on both sides, and then Bakugou's thumbs are on her cheeks and she's scowl-smiling into Todoroki's eyes, and Todoroki knows that they're both grey now, and breathes a prayer to the spirits for allowing her to return what she'd been given, in exchange for something so much greater.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I bent a fucking spirit beam for you, icyhot bastard," Bakugou says, and Todoroki's heart soars, because <em>of course she did</em>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Todoroki kisses her, loses herself in the taste of her lips and the smell of explosions that are more Bakugou than any perfume could ever be, and finally finds a name for that home-love-you-me-forever feeling.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Balance.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Cursed: Airbenders but in all-over denim<br/>Also, obviously Kirishima and Kaminari are Mako and Bolin but element-swapped<br/>My choices for Varrick and Zhu Li are Hatsume and Momo, and instead of "Do the thing" it's "Make the thing".</p>
<p>This AU got a bit out of hand in length, but it's only because I love it so much. It was also the hardest scenario to solve, since Korra mainly fights very different battles from Asami. It got smoother once I adopted the 'my girlfriend turned into the Moon' plotline, but there's still maybe too much left to the reader's imagination to make it believable. Oh well, I had fun anyway.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Base of My Spine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Everyone: Todoroki Shouto and Eren Yeager have the same voice actor!</p><p>Me: Can't argue with facts, but in this essay I will --</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>Bakugou's never once asked for Todoroki's protection, so Todoroki's stopped offering. Protecting him is just the thing she does, now.</p><p> </p><p>Bakugou's finally used to it, but no less angry about how she follows him around like a grim shadow, "worse than that shitty Deku", although since Midoriya is Bakugou's closest friend, Todoroki thinks this must be a compliment. </p><p> </p><p>Even if it's not, Bakugou protected her once, when she was lying bound on the floor stained in her mother's blood, listening to the murderers discuss her exotic looks and fearing for more than just her life. He'd slain the monsters, then screamed at her that if she didn't fight, she couldn't win.</p><p> </p><p>Todoroki had stopped shaking, suddenly, awakened from her perpetual state of torn between hot and cold, and from then on, she'd had complete control over her body.</p><p> </p><p>So she'd fought. And she'd won.</p><p> </p><p>Bakugou had roughly wrapped his red-and-white scarf around Todoroki in the aftermath, and she hasn't taken her eyes off him since.</p><p> </p><p>Not when he calls her annoying, and halfie, and screams at her when she interferes in his fights (keeps him from getting beaten to a pulp, although his pride never lets him admit that). She wears him down eventually -- Midoriya had done the same thing, the short boy confides to her -- because one day he tells her about the sea, and she nods determinedly and declares <em>I want that, too. I want to see it.</em></p><p> </p><p>"Don't say shit like that if you don't want it for you, Halfie," Bakugou growls in warning, and Todoroki frowns. Surely if Bakugou wants it, it's also what she wants?</p><p> </p><p>She tries this logic on him after Wall Maria is breached, when Bakugou screams himself to hoarse tears about how he's going to slaughter all the Titans. Strangely enough, it's Midoriya who takes her aside now, cautions her with similar words.</p><p> </p><p>"No one else can choose what you want, Todoroki," he says. "That's your power. Not Bakugou's. Yours alone."</p><p> </p><p>Todoroki shakes her head and, years later, signs the recruitment papers anyway. Of course she wants to kill all the Titans, too. They'd killed Bakugou's parents, and even if Dr. Mitsuki wasn't Todoroki's own mother, she'd tried her best for the few short years they'd had together.</p><p> </p><p>Besides. If they don't fight, they can't win.</p><p> </p><p>Todoroki's <em>good</em> at fighting. Scarily good, Midoriya compliments with a nervous laugh. Maybe it's the famed Todoroki blood in her veins, the only gift besides a burn scar over her eye left from a father she barely knew, and given her mother's few remarks, was probably better off never knowing. Or perhaps it's because she feels whole, complete, purposeful with Bakugou by her side, her mission in life still a success as long as he and Midoriya draw breath.</p><p> </p><p>Or it could just be a quirk of her personality, that allows her to maintain a cool head while in the heat of battle.</p><p> </p><p>Whatever the cause, no one can argue with the effects. Bakugou's jealous of her, rants about catching up and sweats buckets to win every scrap of progress that comes to her so naturally. He doesn't do himself any favors though, by getting into a fight with Kirishima, then goes running off to Machia and Satou for advice because he can't stand the thought that she's giving up on him.</p><p> </p><p>As if she ever would.</p><p> </p><p>Even when she first thinks Bakugou's dead, stares her own death in the face and is comforted because it's Bakugou and of course he saves her again, only this time in Titan form -- she'd always suspected there was a giant rage monster hidden in there somewhere -- she doesn't give up on him. If anything, she believes him more. Todoroki knows how it is to hate a part of herself, to want to slay it like the monster it is, while all the while it's an integral part of who she is.</p><p> </p><p>Why she kept her last name -- why her mother did, too -- is still something she ponders some times, but on the rare occasion she's honest enough with herself to admit she's more than a little bit in love with Bakugou, she's grateful for the distinction, so that their relationship isn't boxed into one simply familial.</p><p> </p><p>Maybe it would be simpler, the single word of <em>brother</em> to convey to the Captain what Bakugou means to her, an easy excuse for why she abandons her forest post at the cry of his Titan. She gets there just in time to see Mount Lady -- Takayama Yu, the skilled martial artist from their very own trainee corps -- swallow Bakugou whole.</p><p> </p><p>She doesn't give up on him, but she'll give up everything for him. It's the first time she harnesses that hellish, fiery rage for her own, blades flashing red-hot with steaming blood as she slashes futilely at the female Titan. Bakugou's alive in there, somehow. She knows this as surely as she knows her own cursed name.</p><p> </p><p>After, she's salty that Captain Dabi had to show up to help her cut Bakugou out of Mount Lady's mouth; not only because it means she's still not strong enough to keep her promise to Dr. Mitsuki and herself, but also because she's heard the gossip. Dabi's rarely-used surname is Todoroki, too, and while the rumors also say he was an arsonist and a criminal in a past life, Todoroki grates at being lumped together under that name. To be thought of as belonging with anyone but Bakugou and Midoriya.</p><p> </p><p>"You're both passive-aggressive little shits who randomly spontaneously combust, though," Bakugou points out, as if he has room to talk, although privately Todoroki and Midoriya classify their explosive friend as more aggressive-aggressive. "You could definitely be related."</p><p> </p><p>Midoriya almost shatters his ribs laughing about the pot calling the kettle black, because much to Todoroki's dismay, he'll always see Bakugou and Todoroki as adoptive siblings. If it weren't for the disgustingly soft spot Todoroki has for Midoriya -- and the extremely high possibility she'd get her face exploded in a Titan transformation if she tried -- Todoroki would plant one on Bakugou right now.</p><p> </p><p>No one ever said life in the Survey Corps was easy.</p><p> </p><p>Case in point: their colleagues. Along with Takayama, Todoroki adds Machia's and Satou's names to the list of monsters she should have decapitated when she had a chance. Even Jirou's a Titan, but somehow that revelation pales in light of who Yaoyorozu Momo actually is. Todoroki's always suspected that she was a well-bred lady, but the True Ruler of the Walls Creati… well. That's something else indeed.</p><p> </p><p>It's a lot to handle at once, and the last straw is when Midoriya comes to her bedside to tell her that Bakugou and Jirou have been taken by Machia and Satou. She buries her face in her scarf and weeps; she's done everything in her power, and still Bakugou has run off with no regard for those at his side. It takes a great deal of consoling from both Midoriya and Yamada, Shiganshina's former Garrison captain, to assure her that Bakugou had relied on her and Midoriya both, when he most needed them.</p><p> </p><p>Typical of Bakugou to say so with his actions rather than his words, but Todoroki feels her resolve coming back.</p><p> </p><p>She'll kill those traitors. All of them.</p><p> </p><p>She almost does, has her sword to Jirou's neck as Momo -- Creati -- begs her not to kill Jirou, says Jirou didn't have a choice.</p><p> </p><p>Todoroki didn't come here to make friends, and even though Momo had wormed her way under Todoroki's icy walls the same way she did with everyone (the real reason she'd be such a formidable Queen), Todoroki can't find the space in her heart for the other girl right now. It's full of Bakugou, Bakugou, Bakugou, and besides, Kirishima and Kaminari and the others have arrived to play the friendship and nostalgia card with Satou and Machia.</p><p> </p><p>Todoroki's frozen right now, in singular merciless purpose, and she won't hesitate to take their heads off if they won't give up Bakugou.</p><p> </p><p>Which makes it the perfect moment for Commander Yagi to lead a herd of Titans right at them.</p><p> </p><p>Todoroki flashes hot with anger as she's forced to abandon Bakugou when he's within an arm's reach, then cold with focus again as Commander Yagi orders the charge, calling for them to dedicate their hearts.</p><p> </p><p>Todoroki's was dedicated six years ago. She'll put her body, her life, her everything on the line for Bakugou today, same as any other day.</p><p> </p><p>She sees Commander Yagi, All Might himself, dangling from a Titan's mouth, and her heart soars, because it's not just her and Midoriya anymore. The whole Survey Corps is united as one to rescue Bakugou, no matter the cost.</p><p> </p><p>She makes an opening for herself in the crowd of giants, flies up towards Bakugou. She's almost there when a hand closes around her, cracking her ribs and preparing to feast, until Kirishima slashes the Titan's eye out. Midoriya's pleading with Satou now, brilliant in his own way; he has a plan, as always, and sure enough it's Yagi, missing an arm but no less ferocious for it, who swings in to cut Bakugou free, and finally, finally, Todoroki catches him, welcoming the pain in her own body because it means Bakugou's alive and in her arms, if only for the moment.</p><p> </p><p>It's a moment that doesn't last long.</p><p> </p><p>Machia starts throwing Titans at them, and Todoroki and Bakugou are thrown from her horse, to stare up at the smiling face of Dr. Mitsuki's murderer.</p><p> </p><p>Todoroki burns for revenge. So do Yamada, and Bakugou, but Bakugou's barely got hands and doesn't have any mobility gear.</p><p> </p><p>Yamada gives his life.</p><p> </p><p>Todoroki's got nothing left in her to give. Nothing but a smile, and something she's wanted to say for so very long.</p><p> </p><p>"Thank you," Todoroki says, although the world is blood and ruin around her. "For being with me. For teaching me how to live."</p><p> </p><p>She says <em>thank you</em>. She means <em>I love you</em>.</p><p> </p><p>"Thank you for wrapping this scarf around me."</p><p> </p><p>She can't go on, so she reaches through the Titan steam to take his hand.</p><p> </p><p>He tears it away to stand in front of her. "I'll wrap it around you again. Again and again. Forever," he promises, and if for them, forever is only an instant, it's enough.</p><p> </p><p>Todoroki won't let him die like this, standing in front of his mother's killer for her.</p><p> </p><p>When his transformation doesn't come, she pushes him out of the Titan's grasp, chokes out a final <em>thank you</em> (I love you) as she's hauled into the sky and the Titan's maw closes around her.</p><p> </p><p>Protecting Bakugou is what she does, and if her death means his life, she'll give it a thousand times gladly.</p><p> </p><p>The afterlife, Todoroki notices when the darkness recedes and her senses return, hurts just about as much as she'd expected. It's also annoyingly, familiarly, loud.</p><p> </p><p>Bakugou is screaming, gigantic feet are pounding, teeth are tearing into flesh and a blade slices a rift between two worlds as Bakugou cuts her out of the Titan's stomach.</p><p> </p><p>"You fucking two-toned, half-and-half <em>idiot</em> bastard," he berates her, voice raw and hoarse.</p><p> </p><p>Todoroki laughs. It hurts her ribs, and the light hurts her eyes, but it's also casting Bakugou's blond hair into a halo highlighting his demon-red eyes so she doesn't mind. Splatters of blood and entrails are caught in the air behind him like petals of morbid cherry blossoms.</p><p> </p><p>"Todoroki," he adds, once he runs out of insults, and presses his mouth to hers. It's truly disgusting; she's covered in blood, mud, and Titan stomach fluid and he's not much better off, but it's so truly Bakugou it sets her heart alight. "<em>Thank you</em>."</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I love this AU so much, too. Also, I think this last bit is the most romantic scene I've ever managed to write, and it's kind of a gore-fest... there's one reason I tend to stick to comedy, ha ha.</p><p>I'm sad that my fave Hange is not in this (who's Hatsume, of course. Although I'd listen to arguments in favor of Toga).</p><p>I don't really have SNK ships outside of Ymir x Historia, but Eremika certainly had this gorgeous moment at the end of S2 that I had to pay tribute to.</p><p>So… if anyone is an artist or even half-decent at photoshop… and wants to take a shot at depicting Levi!Dabi and Mikasa!Todoroki doing that Ackerman thing where you make your dramatic entrance with a Titan kill then look back over your shoulder at your friends…. I would love to talk about commissioning you :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Using Symbols</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p></p><div>
  <p> </p>
  <p></p>
  <div>
    <p> </p>
    <p></p>
    <div>
      <p> </p>
      <p>They're fighting again. It's what they do.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Todoroki loves it, especially when the stakes are as high as they are now. The General's rigged the bridge to blow; Todoroki throws down the cut end of the fuse in challenge. She's not expecting the General to leave her forces, torch in hand, in a last-ditch effort to set the charges off herself, but it makes the heat of the Sun build under Todoroki's skin.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>That boldness, that unpredictability -- it's what made her first notice the fierce Katolian general. The cockiness, too, daring Todoroki to attack even after the Sunforge sword disarmed her.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>They clash and Todoroki's first strike accomplishes her objective; the flame falls from the General's hand, and the Katolian can't summon fire from her skin like Todoroki can. It should be over, but with the General, it never is.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>The human woman wastes no time on regrets and rolls to her feet, draws her blade.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Todoroki rushes eagerly to meet her, heat tingling in her left side begging to break free, but she tempers with ice from her right. She's given into her father's curse too easily, when facing the General, and when the rage overtakes her, the joy of the fight disappears.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>And the General is <em>such</em> a pleasure.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Her shield is equally defense and offense; she uses her environment magnificently and if Todoroki's not careful, she'll be one step behind the entire time.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>The General foregoes sword and shield to catch Todoroki by the wrist and use her own momentum to sling her to the ground; fire bursts up and down Todoroki's left side veins, and all she can see is the proud challenge on the General's face, those blood-red eyes mocking her underneath the asymmetric cut of ash-blond hair as the Katolian points the Sunforge blade at its owner's face, before hurling it past her.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>The bridge explodes.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Todoroki's caught between fury -- the General hadn't deigned to cross swords with her, instead throwing her very own blade into the powder keg -- admiration for the General's foresight, and the literal edge of a cliff.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Todoroki really should have been more careful.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>The General's face is hard as she stands over her, and Todoroki stares defiantly back.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>The General grabs her hand, but instead of pushing she pulls.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Todoroki's speechless, face-to-face with the other woman without drawn swords between them. The General is, too, and Todoroki wonders.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>She's deaf and mute, they tell Todoroki later, but there was more to it than that, she's sure.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"What's your name?" Todoroki asks, and Jirou bites back a nervous grin before translating.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"It's Lord Explosion Murder to you," they say, and Todoroki hides a grin of her own.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>She straightens up to her full height, lets fire light up the veins on her left and ice glow softly on her right, and she knows how unearthly she looks and sounds -- well, not that the sounds matter with this one -- as she growls again: "Your <em>name</em>, Katolian."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>The woman's hands flash in a series of quick symbols, although they linger on the middle finger which needs no interpretation. "Bakugou Katsuki," says Jirou.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Bakugou.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Todoroki wonders if Bakugou knows her name; she'd known of the other as many things -- the Katolian general, adopted sister of the late Kirishima Eijirou, who had been the husband of the recently deceased Alien Queen. But the humans didn't have their Moonshadow spies to report on Xadian doings, so it's possible Bakugou only knows of her from combat.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>It intrigues Todoroki, if she's honest; here in Lux Aurea, everyone knows her as the Golden Knight, the princess, Enji's prodigy child, the chimera elf. To be known the way Bakugou knows her -- through combat alone, through action instead of words -- Todoroki can't help but feel that from this alone the human woman knows her better than anyone in Lux Arena.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>She's dangerous, Todoroki knows, for that and many other reasons. For the good of Xadia, of Lux Arena, Todoroki needs to focus.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>She demands to know about the human armies, the enemy plans. Bakugou tells her to shove it up her ass.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"I suppose you think that's funny," Todoroki sneers, resting a sharp thumbnail threateningly against Bakugou's jaw.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>The woman just smirks and nods.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Fucking hell. She's just as infuriating as Touya, who takes one look at Bakugou, sees a human, and tells Todoroki to take out the trash.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Sometimes, Todoroki thinks, barely keeping her manners in check enough to please the little shit who has the unfortunate title of Queen, she'd love to have it out with her sister. Just the two of them and flaming blades, but Todoroki knows that's just what their father would want. A competition only the strongest would survive, and Todoroki had spent so much of her childhood just surviving that she'd sworn she'd never fight family again after Touya killed Enji.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"She fought with a warrior's honor." Todoroki chooses to defend Bakugou instead. "Should we not do the same?"</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Touya scoffs, mocks her little sister. "How sad, Todoroki Shouto. Taking the side of a human, after all you were raised to be?"</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Todoroki snarls, and Touya laughs condescendingly. "Let the Light decide."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>The Sunfire Staff, which would obliterate the royal family in an instant, Todoroki knows; they know their crimes, and she can only hope that Bakugou's at peace with hers.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Still, she can dream. "If you want to live, you have to look into the Light," Todoroki says urgently.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Bakugou's watching her lips as Todoroki repeats herself. They'd never needed words before; it has to be enough, now.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Bakugou turns her face into the Light.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>A pure heart.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Todoroki is torn, joy and misery warring in her two halves. Joy because Bakugou lives, misery because Bakugou's too good for someone like her.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>She proves it when she holds down Todoroki's scorching hand, snuffs out the rage that consumes her when All-For-One steps out of his human vessel and crumbles Touya to dust with the touch of a finger.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>There's nothing Todoroki can do, Bakugou's eyes are saying. Nothing, but live to fight another day.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p><em>You half-and-half bastard</em>, she signs with a smirk for good measure.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>It's different, fighting at Bakugou's side. Todoroki was raised as a dual sword, and even she has come to admit that it suits her. But she'd never known until now that she was missing a shield.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Bakugou's all that and more, for her; the fight pulses through their blood in the same way, although they are Xadian and Katolian, elf and human, worlds apart yet somehow perfect together.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"It's death, what you're doing," Jirou had said to her. "I can't go with you, this time."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Todoroki, for maybe the first time in her life, understands. Jirou has Momo, a life of scholarship ahead as they search for the truth among the noise. Lux Arena is Jirou's home, just as it will always be a cage for Todoroki.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p><em>You were supposed to be Queen</em>, they don't say when they embrace her for the last time. <em>You were always the chosen heir</em>.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Chosen by everyone but Todoroki. And she's not the ruler the Sunfire Elves need right now; Fuyumi's nurture or Natsuo's wit can serve their people through these changing times far better than Todoroki, who's known little outside of violence and battle.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>And if this is death, if she's to become a ghost to her own people, then it's also freedom; freedom to find her own dreams, to fight her own battles. She'll face All-For-One and his sorceress daughter, take back the Sunfire Staff, fight with the humans instead of against them, give All Might the chance to grow into his power.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>If this is her death to her people, to her family name, then Todoroki's happy despite it all. King Izuku greets the people of Katolis, spares a moment and a blinding smile just for her. Todoroki bows, offers her sword; it's not backed by the full power of her people, but it's what she can give.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>"It's your power, though," says the boy king, green eyes solemn. "It's enough."</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>His gaze slips past her for an instant, and when she turns Todoroki notices the Moonshadow assassin Shinsou standing with Prince Denki, together with All-For-One's own son Tenko. She's not the only one making her own way apart from her people, and she has someone special by her side, too.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Their world is changing, expanding beyond borders drawn by armies or in the minds of living beings. Nana's joyful roar as she wakes from her long slumber to greet All Might for the first time is witness of this.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Todoroki looks to Bakugou; <em>she's not my friend</em>, Bakugou had protested indignantly, earlier, but her hands now tell a different story.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p>Bakugou takes Todoroki's hand in hers, and there's absolutely no need to speak at all.</p>
      <p> </p>
      <p> </p>
      <p> </p>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Okay, but come on. Sunfire/Moonshadow elf Todoroki, with dark skin, red dreadlocks on one side, straight white hair on the other, dark red scar? Gold and red armor, and that sword? Gorgeous. Sunfire elves have such a stunning design to start with…</p><p>Also I'm convinced Bakugou would look great with Amaya's asymmetric haircut and scar.</p><p>Other notes about this AU that I didn't have space to work in:<br/>Hana is Claudia… although I'd also be willing to have Hana as Soren and Tenko/Shigaraki as Claudia, but since Soren's equivalent got a mention here I figured more people would know who Tenko is as opposed to Hana.<br/>Uraraka is Bakugou's interpreter Gren, obvs</p><p>Originally I was going to go for a complete generation swap, but Ezran and Izuku look so alike and have similar places w.r.t Zym/All Might that this was the only solution…</p><p>So the main story is actually Shinkami with Shinsou as Reyla (which means her adoptive dads are naturally Aizawa and Yamada) and Kaminari as Callum, and Deku's along for a good part of the adventure as well. I would totally read this AU…</p><p>For these AUs I've been assigning gender identity based on the world of the AU, but you might notice the one exception to that is Kirishima and Ashido keeping their BNHA genders. It's a matter of recognizability again: if I say Alien Queen, most people will know I mean Ashido, but that might have gotten lost if I'd had to write Alien King.</p><p>Finally… most of what TDP does, I adore, but imo the addition of accents opens a huge can of worms without adding much to the world so I choose to ignore the fact that those exist.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Human Cannonball</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The canon-verse chapter you've all been waiting for</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Warning for what one manga arc ago was not canon-typical violence and bloodshed, but now seems par for the course.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Bakugou corners him in the hall one day, grabs a fistful of his shirt and screams at him to <em>stop fucking following me, you creepy-eyed two-toned bastard</em>.</p><p> </p><p>Todoroki blinks, offended; he rather likes his weird eyes, and besides: "But you always tell me to walk behind you."</p><p> </p><p>"Don't walk near me at all, idiot! I don't need your goddamned <em>hovering</em>."</p><p> </p><p>A group of voices go quiet as they round the corner; Bakugou turns his rage on them next, and Todoroki takes the opportunity to wiggle his shirt free.</p><p> </p><p>"That goes for all of you!" Bakugou howls. "I never asked to be rescued, much less by such damn idiot extras! Now fuck off, I ain't gonna break! As if I'd ever be that weak!"</p><p> </p><p>Iida, Yaoyorozu, Midoriya, and Kirishima issue a mix of apologies and reprimands for the language, with what sounds like a platitude thrown in here or there. Todoroki frowns. "We didn't go because we thought you were weak," he thinks it's important to clarify.</p><p> </p><p>"Yeah!" Kirishima, Todoroki's partner in that particular crime, backs him up. "We went because you're our friend!"</p><p> </p><p>"I'm not your --"</p><p> </p><p>"And because if any villains deserved an ass-kicking, it was those punks!"</p><p> </p><p>Finally, something even Bakugou can't argue with. Todoroki's in awe of Kirishima's gremlin-wrangling talents.</p><p> </p><p>Said gremlin shuffles his feet and punches the wall. Todoroki's so glad he'd moved aside; that had some real force behind it. "You fuckers could've… could've…"</p><p> </p><p>"Oh, don't worry, Kacchan! Aizawa-sensei's threatened to expel me at least once for every bone I've broken, so that's, uh…"</p><p> </p><p>"Twenty-seven times," supplies Yaoyorozu helpfully.</p><p> </p><p>"Died!" Bakugou yells in Midoriya's face. "Idiots!"</p><p> </p><p>"Oh. Well…" It's Iida's turn to shift uncomfortably, pushing his glasses further up his nose. "Of course we would have…"</p><p> </p><p>"We'd die for you," Todoroki supplies what he thinks Iida's trying to say. After all, it's obvious, isn't it?</p><p> </p><p>"What the FUCK," Bakugou shouts.</p><p> </p><p>Oh. So maybe it wasn't? Had Todoroki been wrong to include the others in his statement? He doesn't intimately know their motivations for joining the rescue mission. He's pretty sure Midoriya had come along out of his inherent heroism combined with a Kacchan complex, and Iida and Momo out of their obligation to their classmates' safety.</p><p> </p><p>"I would die for you," he clarifies, although he's pretty sure he can include Kirishima in that statement, but he'll have to ask Kirishima first.</p><p> </p><p>"Who the fuck told you you could say shit like that, Halfie," Bakugou says, and he sounds dazed.</p><p> </p><p>Everyone else is looking oddly at Todoroki too, and he's not sure what he did wrong this time. "It's true," he insists. "I would. I'm certain."</p><p> </p><p>"Todoroki-kun…" wavers Midoriya. "Don't say things like that!"</p><p> </p><p>"Why not?" Todoroki asks, perplexed. It's a truth he knows as well as the color of the sky, the grass. "In fact, I'm certain that I already have, in a past life. Several times."</p><p> </p><p>An explosion sounds and then Bakugou's beating his head against Kirishima's chest. Todoroki's fairly certain that Kirishima ought to harden if Bakugou's going for permanent brain damage, but Kirishima's a saint and doesn't, just pats Bakugou on the back with a lost expression.</p><p> </p><p>"Oh, I… didn't realize you were Buddhist, Todoroki-san!" exclaims Momo. </p><p> </p><p>"I'm not?" Todoroki missed when the conversation transitioned to religion.</p><p> </p><p>"Reincarnation. It's a fundamental part of Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism and … wait, you're not? Then why…"</p><p> </p><p>Todoroki waits patiently for Momo to finish her question, but she never does.</p><p> </p><p>"I'll kill you now, if that will help," Bakugou threatens him, and Todoroki's relieved that he seems back to normal.</p><p> </p><p>"You won't need to," he assures Bakugou, because given their desired professions, chances of a fellow hero-in-training being listed as cause-of-death were slim to none.</p><p> </p><p>But still much higher than Todoroki had previously thought, he realized, suddenly knocked to his ass and blinking back afterimages of a blinding explosion.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>It becomes something of a joke between them, although Todoroki had never meant it that way. But if that's what it takes for Bakugou to accept it, he'll live with it.</p><p> </p><p>It's not a joke, though, and the others don't treat it as a joke when he says<em> I would trust you with my life to Midoriya</em> (Todoroki squashes down that small part of him that tries to scream that it was a joke to Midoriya, who never trusted Todoroki with his secret until it was forced out of him), or<em> I would follow you anywhere</em> to Yaoyorozu. He says<em> I won't leave you alone</em> to Dabi, to Touya, and no one else on that grim battlefield is around to hear it but Shouto keeps his promise. He doesn't leave his older brother, given back to him and then taken away again just as easily, his corpse heavy and cooling in Shouto's arms.</p><p> </p><p>But it comes to mean even more than a willingness to lay down his life, over the years. Bakugou's different from all the others who Todoroki would also die for. He's incandescent, an impossibly brilliant force that Todoroki can't tear his eyes away from.</p><p> </p><p>He asks Midoriya about it, figuring he has the most experience with the enigma that is Bakugou. Midoriya clucks his tongue and scolds him gently. "I thought we were older and wiser now, able to learn from our mistakes. Don't break all your bones, and don't have a crush on Kacchan."</p><p> </p><p>"It's not a crush," Todoroki protests, because that's too trite a word for the fury that is Bakugou.</p><p> </p><p>"Don't fall in love then," says Midoriya, and if any word fits Todoroki's situation, it's that one.</p><p> </p><p>Todoroki had never thought he'd be one to fall in love, but it slots into place so perfectly with everything else he knows about Bakugou; nitroglycerin is sweet yet dangerous, Bakugou's as loyal as he is capable, they would both die for the other, and evidently Todoroki's been in love with Bakugou since he was fifteen.</p><p> </p><p>It feels so natural, such a cornerstone piece of his life, that perhaps Todoroki neglects to say it out loud.</p><p> </p><p>He's always been kind of an idiot that way.</p><p> </p><p>And in this way, too, Todoroki thinks as he hears Bakugou berating him, focuses on the panicked noises to distract himself from the onset of lightheadedness and foreground of pain, pain, pain as gravity does its work and his upper arm slides off the object impaling it, landing him on his knees in a growing pool of his own blood.</p><p> </p><p>"You weren't actually supposed to die for me, bastard!" Bakugou is sobbing into the growing darkness; why is it dark? Ah, the building collapsed. Todoroki wonders if the villain is still wreaking havoc above, wonders if he managed to shield Bakugou sufficiently with his ice and body or if he'd been impaled, too.</p><p> </p><p>There's a firm hand wrapping around his arm now, trying to squeeze the life out of it. Or rather, back into it; Bakugou's wrapping his mask around as tight as it can go, in hopes that the temporary tourniquet can do enough.</p><p> </p><p>It's dark down here, but judging by the extent of the puddle he's kneeling in, Todoroki doesn't know if they'll have enough time.</p><p> </p><p>"Why would I have said I would if I didn't mean it?" Todoroki wonders, fixated on Bakugou's words.</p><p> </p><p>It had never been a joke.</p><p> </p><p>There were worse ways to go, Todoroki thinks. Worse people to have loved.</p><p> </p><p>"I told you," he breathes. "It's nothing I haven't done before."</p><p> </p><p>He's more sure of it now than ever, feet lightening in this world and turning towards the next.</p><p> </p><p>Bakugou swears. There are tears on his cheeks, onyx in the dark under what Todoroki knows are ruby-red eyes. "So you've died for me a hundred times, but you won't live for me? Hah?!" Bakugou challenges, pressing down harder on the tourniquet. Todoroki can't feel his arm any more, but he can't feel very many things any more, either.</p><p> </p><p>Nothing except the heat of Bakugou's challenge.</p><p> </p><p>"Don't be a goddamned half-assed <em>coward</em>," Bakugou snarls into his ear. "It was never about <em>death</em>." He spits the last word out like a curse.</p><p> </p><p>Bakugou takes Todoroki's hand, his left hand, squeezes it so desperately Todoroki can feel it above all else, and places it high up on his ruined arm.</p><p> </p><p>"<em>Shouto</em>," Bakugou begs, voice broken.</p><p> </p><p>It's your power, Todoroki hears, sees the desperation in green eyes overlaying the red.</p><p> </p><p>Is he limiting himself to half of him, once again? Death is still and cold, final and unrelenting as the ice, but fire... fire is wild, dangerous, unpredictable. Anything can happen with fire, unthinkable horrors or indescribable joys. The effort and will it takes to live ablaze is as exhausting as it is exhilarating.</p><p> </p><p>It is life.</p><p> </p><p>Todoroki raises his head, looks Bakugou in the eyes, and finds the words <em>I love you</em> insufficient. So he bares his teeth in a grin and he <em>burns</em>.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>If that isn't the most poetic (and hopefully non-graphic) wound cauterization scene you've ever read, I'll eat my hat. </p><p>I started out this writing practice fully intending to write permanent death scenes, but then the theme emerged that the harder sacrifice is in fact not death, but rather life. </p><p>So that brief mention of Dabi... I had in my mind the scene at the end of Tokyo Ghoul Root A, where Kaneki's carrying Hide through the CCG ranks... which got me to thinking that that would be the absolute perfect end to a Dabi redemption fic (although with Dabi carrying Shouto). Especially with the implication that Kaneki basically is trading the ghoul part of himself to save the human part of himself represented in Hide... </p><p>Off-topic, but if anyone writes this, I will read it and probably lose my shit over it.</p>
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